Minkyung leans forwards and rests her hands on her knees. Her chest heaves as she tries to regain her breath after the game finally ended. “And so Dongduk Girls’ Middle School rounds out the first match of the winter tournament with a devastating win against Shin Wol Middle School,” the announcer declares. “Better luck next time, Shin Wol.”

    Yeah, Minkyung thinks to herself as the announcer’s last words reverberates throughout the gymnasium, better luck next time. It’s only later, when the opposing teams are shaking hands, that Minkyung realizes that for her, there really isn’t a next time. As a third year in middle school, this is the last game she will ever get to play with this team, with this crest on her chest, and the thought of it breaks her heart. But still, she stands tall and keeps a strained smile on her face. When the last girl stops in front of her, Minkyung’s smile almost drops. “Good game,” she tells the girl across from her, the girl who was the reason why Shin Wol’s loss had been so severe, after a brief pause.

    “You too,” Im Nayoung replies back with a small smile. Minkyung hates how sincere it looks.

    With that, both teams walk off the court. There are tears welling up in Minkyung’s eyes but she doesn’t dare let them drop, and instead leads her team back into the locker room with her head held high. If anything, she can hold onto this last shred of dignity.

.

    “I think I’m going to quit volleyball,” one of Minkyung’s (former) teammates tell her quietly after their school graduation. “That loss back during the winter tournament was kind of like a wake up call, you know? And it made me realize that maybe,” she shrugs, “Maybe volleyball isn’t for me.”

    Minkyung nods in understanding but keeps mum, quietly fiddling with the tassel of her graduation cap. “What about you?” another (former) teammate asks her. “Are you going to quit too?”

    Minkyung lays back and rests against the cold bench. “Nah,” she says, looking up at the clouds in the sky. “I think I’m going to give volleyball another shot.”

.

    Minkyung wonders whether this situation should be considered good luck or bad luck. On one hand, she managed to be one of the only three first years who had made it onto the volleyball team. The Pledis Penguins aren’t the cream of the crop by any means, but they’re a strong, solid team, with a few notable athletes having come from their team. But on the other hand- Minkyung tries hard not to stare at Im Nayoung’s stoic face and scoff at how morbid and borderline cruel the universe’s sense of humor seemed to be. It would be her luck to be stuck on the same team as the person who had caused her to almost consider ending her volleyball career.  

    “Well,” says Kang Kyungwon, the third player who had made the team. “It’s nice to meet you guys. Let’s get along well?” She punctuates the last sentence (question?) with a nervous smile that Minkyung reassuringly returns full blast.

    “Yeah, of course.” Minkyung reaches over to shake her hand, shooting her a goofy little grin. Kyungwon immediately relaxes at Minkyung’s response, shoulders subtly sagging with relief, and Minkyung can’t help but think about how cute she is. Then her gaze shifts over to Nayoung and she hesitates- only briefly, brief enough for noone to notice- before giving the other girl the most sincere smile she could muster. (It wasn’t very sincere, if Minkyung is to be honest.) “Let’s get along well.”

    Nayoung responds with a small smile and an emphatic nod. “Yeah, let’s.” Minkyung still hates how sincere Nayoung’s smile looks.

.

    “KIM MINKYUNG!” The coach’s abrasive voice echoes harshly throughout the gym and everyone stops practicing to stare at her. Minkyung tries her hardest to not shrink into herself.

    “Yes, coach?” she responds, almost shyly.

    “That was an easy hit to block. How on earth did you manage to miss that?” her coach scolds and Minkyung can’t do anything but bow in apology. “Be more like Nayoung! She wouldn’t have missed that.”

    “I’m sorry, I’ll do better next time!”

    Her coach glares at her. “You better.” And with that, she goes back to her clipboard and the rest of the team resumes their practice. Minkyung sighs in relief and shoots Kyungwon a reassuring smile when she notices the concerned look the other girl sends her way. She turns to her side to see Nayoung looking at her with the same concern in her eyes and Minkyung softens just a bit. “Let’s get back to practice,” she says, giving Nayoung a quiet smile. “Wouldn’t want to make the coach mad again.” Nayoung nods but the concern in her eyes never fade. They both turn to face the net.

.

    “Hey.”

    Minkyung turns around to see Nayoung, hair still dripping wet from showering after practice. “Nayoung, hey. What’s up?”

    Nayoung hesitates, fiddling with the strap of her gym bag for a bit before saying, “I’m sorry.”

    Minkyung blinks. “For… what?”

    “For practice earlier,” Nayoung explains. Her fingers have stopped fiddling with the strap of her gym bag now, and instead, she holds the strap in a death grip with both hands. “Coach kept on yelling at you and comparing you to me and-” Nayoung trails off and gives a slight shrug. “Sorry,” she apologizes again, and Minkyung immediately softens.

    “We play the same position,” Minkyung says. “She’s going to compare us no matter what you do, and that’s not your fault.” Nayoung opens to say something but before she can apologize again, Minkyung cuts in. “Don’t apologize for being good at what you do,” Minkyung tells the other girl. “You shouldn’t have to.”

    “So you’re not mad?”

    “Of course not. A bit jealous, sure,” Minkyung shrugs, “But you’re good at volleyball. Like, really good at volleyball, and you worked hard for that. Why would I ever be mad at you for that?”

    “I just thought that-” Nayoung’s voice trails off into an incomprehensible mumble and Minkyung tilts her head to the side, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

    “What did you say?”

    “I thought you didn’t like me.” Nayoung’s voice is still quiet, barely above a whisper, but at least this time, Minkyung was able to understand what she’s saying.

    Minkyung internally winces. “Well,” she starts, sheepishly rubbing at the nape of her neck. “I did at first.” she admits because it looks like she got caught anyways. “Do you remember which middle school I was from?”

    Nayoung nods. “Shin Wol, right?”

    “Yeah,” Minkyung confirms. “And in the interregional winter tournament in my third year of middle school, we lost to your school in the very first round. Or, I guess it’d be more correct to say we lost to you.” Minkyung looks up at Nayoung, but the other girl remains silent. “We practiced like crazy for that tournament, you know. Especially the third years, because it was our last tournament. And you- You just crushed us like we were nothing. Of course I’d have some leftover resentment from that.” Nayoung’s death grip on the strap of her gym bag has somehow managed to tighten even more, but before she could say anything, Minkyung powers through. “But that was then. And this is now,” Minkyung says, putting both hands on Nayoung’s shoulders and looking her straight in the eyes. “And now, I know that you’re a hardworking person who deserved that win, and that grudges are very tiring.” Minkyung waits until Nayoung gives a small nod to continue. “I don’t hate you.” Minkyung frowns and rephrases the statement. “I like you. You’re my teammate,” and it’s that last statement that gets a shy smile out of Nayoung.

    Minkyung smiles in return. “Are we good now?”

    Nayoung nods with a small “yeah” and it’s barely anything, but Minkyung knows Nayoung well enough now to know that it’s enough.

    “Great! Now let’s get out of here before the coach locks us in the gym,” Minkyung says, shouldering her own gym bag.

    “I remember you, you know,” Nayoung says, right when Minkyung was about to head out of the locker room. Minkyung lets go of the door and turns around to face the other girl. “From the winter tournament. You were the one who did that really vertical hit inside my block. The one from the second set.”

    Minkyung blinks. “Did I?”

    “Yeah.”

    “I didn’t take you for someone who remembers your opponents’ every moves,” Minkyung chuckles.

    “I don’t. Just the cool ones,” Nayoung lightly jokes, a tentative smile on her face and this image- the one of the serious and stoic Im Nayoung joking around- is so incredulous that Minkyung bursts out into a loud laugh.

    “You know what?” Minkyung says, once she regained her breath, “Let’s go out for ice cream. As a team bonding experience,” and grabs Nayoung’s hand and drags her to the nearest ice cream shop. Nayoung protests, saying that it doesn’t really count as a team bonding experience if said experience consists of only two of the members on the team. But still, it’s the first time Minkyung has ever seen Nayoung smile, like really smile, and she realizes that maybe, she wants to see more.